mithrander
New Member
I will be looking at a 2005 vmax this week has low miles (less than 3000) and pictures look good. anything in particular I should be looking for with the bike while Im inspecting prior to purchase? TIA
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The #1 thing that instantly devalues a VMax is: (drum roll)... jumping out of gear under acceleration, and it's usually 2nd gear. Running it up to say, 6,000 rpm, & hit 2nd gear quickly, if it's gonna skip out of gear, that should do it. If it does jump-out of gear, it's a < $1,000 bike, if you cannot split the cases yourself and repair it. A shop would probably want $2,000 parts & labor to fix it. Many members are able to do it themselves.
If you're having to split the cases, and your intent is to keep it, there are other things to consider doing, like shift drum & forks replacement, oil pump & pickup upgrade, starter upgrade (likely not needed on a low-miles '05, it should come w/the 'good' 4-pole starter, and the starter clutch shouldn't be in need of replacement, nor should the shift drum 'star' need replacement. A low-miles bike shouldn't need shift drum & shift forks, or replacement of other gears. Something that makes a bike better over the long haul is to have the gearset undercut, making it less-likely for the gears to jump out of engagement. It makes for faster shifting also.
If you take a look at the master cylinders, see through the sight-glass if the brake fluid is transparent. If it's so-dirty that it's opaque, it's been neglected. It needs changing, which isn't a big deal, until you go for your first ride on it, and the clutch doesn't disengage (causes: low fluid; obstructed bleed port , the tiny opening on the floor of the master cyl.) or the brake lever comes all the way back to the handlebar and you're not slowing down, or the footbrake goes full-travel and to no good effect.
Does the bike readily turn-over on the starter, with the engine cold? Put the back of your hand close to an engine side-case, and see if it's cold. If the battery's in good shape, and the connections are clean and tight, the engine should readily turn-over and start pretty-quickly. It's not uncommon the choke lever (left front of the carburetors, look for the black tab for the lever) needs to be used.
Look at the lower triple tree's fork stops, in a hard accident, you can knock-off one of those.
There's more, but that's a start.
If you're having to split the cases, and your intent is to keep it, there are other things to consider doing, like shift drum & forks replacement, oil pump & pickup upgrade, starter upgrade (likely not needed on a low-miles '05, it should come w/the 'good' 4-pole starter, and the starter clutch shouldn't be in need of replacement, nor should the shift drum 'star' need replacement. A low-miles bike shouldn't need shift drum & shift forks, or replacement of other gears. Something that makes a bike better over the long haul is to have the gearset undercut, making it less-likely for the gears to jump out of engagement. It makes for faster shifting also.
If you take a look at the master cylinders, see through the sight-glass if the brake fluid is transparent. If it's so-dirty that it's opaque, it's been neglected. It needs changing, which isn't a big deal, until you go for your first ride on it, and the clutch doesn't disengage (causes: low fluid; obstructed bleed port , the tiny opening on the floor of the master cyl.) or the brake lever comes all the way back to the handlebar and you're not slowing down, or the footbrake goes full-travel and to no good effect.
Does the bike readily turn-over on the starter, with the engine cold? Put the back of your hand close to an engine side-case, and see if it's cold. If the battery's in good shape, and the connections are clean and tight, the engine should readily turn-over and start pretty-quickly. It's not uncommon the choke lever (left front of the carburetors, look for the black tab for the lever) needs to be used.
Look at the lower triple tree's fork stops, in a hard accident, you can knock-off one of those.
There's more, but that's a start.
Last edited:
MaxMidnight
Well-Known Member
As it's spent most of it's life sitting around I would concentrate on aspects that are more likely to be influenced by that.
Have a butchers in the fuel tank and check for corrosion; try and establish how old the tyres are and rotate the front to make sure it hasn't flat spotted from sitting inthe same position; ask when the fluids were last changed, particularly brake and clutch.
I'd also like to hear it start from cold and make sure it ticks over with the choke off.
With that low milage I wouldn't expect a problem with starter clutch or corrosion inside the front headers.
Check the brakes work and are not siezed on.
Further to Mr Medics comment, I wouldn't expect that to be an issue with this year of bike
Have a butchers in the fuel tank and check for corrosion; try and establish how old the tyres are and rotate the front to make sure it hasn't flat spotted from sitting inthe same position; ask when the fluids were last changed, particularly brake and clutch.
I'd also like to hear it start from cold and make sure it ticks over with the choke off.
With that low milage I wouldn't expect a problem with starter clutch or corrosion inside the front headers.
Check the brakes work and are not siezed on.
Further to Mr Medics comment, I wouldn't expect that to be an issue with this year of bike
Redrum
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Luckily mine is not slipping out of second gear. I have missed a couple shifts but my bad.
If I DID have a second gear problem would anything else break or wear if you just skipped second gear?
If <$1000 gets me a 3000 mile vmax, with no second gear, I might have to look around.
If I DID have a second gear problem would anything else break or wear if you just skipped second gear?
If <$1000 gets me a 3000 mile vmax, with no second gear, I might have to look around.
